Comparing the Different Spread Betting Companies

Markets Covered

Wide range of markets, about 12,000 different markets are covered spanning stock indices, individual stocks (FTSE350, DAX30, CAC40 plus numerous US), many UK sectors, currencies, commodities, interest rates, options, bonds, volatility, 'specials' and binary betting.

Training Facilities

A demo account with £10,000 virtual cash to trade with is available. For four weeks after registering for a real account you can also choose to spread bet from just 25 pence per point in the Trading Academy. Free seminars are also hosted on a regular basis.

Typical Spreads

Dealing Commissions and Fees

Credit card transactions will incur a fee of 1.5%. Other ways to deposit without incurring fees consist of Maestro Cards, BACS, CHAPS, or cheques.

Financing Charges

2.50% over LIBOR if Long - 2.50% under LIBOR if short. Financing is paid on the value of the holding of the underlying financial instrument, minus margin requirement.

Accounts Available and Credit Facilities

CityIndex is unique in that you can trade both CFDs and spread bets on the same platform. No Credit Facilities. Guaranteed Stops are available on FTSE 100 blue-chip stocks and indices.

Minimum Stake and Deposit

Varies by product for instance - Daily FTSE Index - £0.50 per point, UK stocks £0.50 per point, forex pairs £1 per point. Minimum first-time deposit is £100

Rolling Policy

City Index recently changed all their daily cash bets to DFBs (Daily Funded Bets) which automatically rollover (for a charge) similar to forex markets. This means that the daily rolling trades are rolled over from day to day with no P+L being crystalised although a financing fee will be incurred for overnight positions.

Dividend Policy

UK long positions will receive a adjustment of 90% of the gross dividend, UK short positions pay an adjustment of 90% of the gross dividend.

Futures

When you roll over a position at CityIndex you will be closed at the mid-point and re-entered at the prevailing buy price.

Stop and Limit Orders Available

Stop Loss, Limit Orders, If Done, and OCO Available. Orders can bet set 'Good until End of day (GFD)', 'Good until Cancelled (GTC)' or 'Good until Time (GTT)'. Guaranteed Stops on UK 100 stocks and indices are also available for an additional fee.

Your trades will not have an automatic stop loss, but you would be able to add one to your trade or order either before or after opening of the spread bet.

Opening Hours

The FTSE and Dow are quoted 24 hours.

Research and Charting

Professional charting systems are provided by 'Pro-Realtime' - 3 different levels of charts are offered from dead simple to dead not-simple, charts come with indicator builder/creator too, all free. You can trade/manage trades right off the charts too... Technical detailed useful commentary research covering shares, indices, forex, commodities and fixed income is also freely available to clients (provided by Trading Central and Investors Intelligence).

Support

Support is fair although they appear to prefer telephone contact. Live Chat support is also available.

Details and Signup Incentives

A more detailed review of City Index is available here.

Or click here to sign up for a CityIndex spread betting account. No vouchers or sign-up offers are offered but City Index have a nice application for the iPhone and iPod Touch allowing you to spread bet and monitor prices on the move!

Comments? Inaccuracies!!? Send your comments to traderATfinancial-spread-betting.com The spreads of a particular firm have changed? E-mail us and we will post and update.